show work to solve (-8) + (-3) - (+2)

Question

The answer in the book was -13... please show the steps/reasoning to this solution.  TY.

Answer 1

(-8) + (-3) - (+2)

There are many different ways people use to try to understand how to work with negative numbers. It can be really confusing sitting trying to imagine things in your head, so lots of people find it useful to draw diagrams like a number line.

If you'd rather do it a different way then you can change the equation to make it look easier:

(-8) + (-3) - (+2) = - 8 - 3 - 2

This is the same thing as:

- 8 - 3 - 2 = -1x(8 + 3 + 2)

This is exactly the same equation, it's just making it easier to visualise.

So, -1x(8 + 3 + 2) = -1x(13)

And then, -1x(13) = -13